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According to lead vocalist Florence Welch, the song represents a new guitar-driven sonic direction for the band. "It's got very loud guitars and that was very fun to record actually", she said in an interview. "Trying to get exactly the right tone of guitar—I never realised how complicated that is. It took us forever.... Every day there'd be a different guitar sound. We ended up layering with three different guitar sounds, one on top of the other, in order to create this one song."[3]

The song builds slowly and breaks into a heavy beat with tambourine and bass drum, and then becomes a textured pop song with heavy brass arrangements.[4] The song lyrically focuses on an indecisive man who wronged Welch.[4][5]

"What Kind of Man" received acclaim from music critics. Al Horner of the NME wrote, "Musically, it's big. Wagnerian backing vocals and horn blasts turn 'What Kind Of Man' into a spectacle worthy of [Welch's] new festival headliner status".[6] Dee Lockett of Vulture dubbed it a "fiery rocker".[5] Andrew Unterberger of Spin opined that the song "starts off a letdown, but quickly proves to be ['Ship to Wreck''s] roaring equal, with the unexpected arrival of a thick guitar chop and regal horn salute that gives Florence the instrumental support she deserves as she excoriates an uncommitted significant other".[7]

"What Kind of Man" debuted at number 57 on the UK Singles Chart,[8] peaking at number 37 the following week.[9] In the United States, the song reached number eight on the BillboardAlternative Songs chart, tying with the band's 2010 single "Dog Days Are Over" and subsequent single "Ship to Wreck" as their highest-peaking single on that chart.[10] As of July 2018 in United Kingdom song has reached 177,000 sold copies and 11,2 million streams.[11]

The music video for "What Kind of Man" was directed by Vincent Haycock and choreographed by Ryan Heffington. It premiered on 12 February 2015.[12] The video is a short film that includes dialogue about the unifying power of tragedy in a relationship between a couple as they drive down a country road. Scenes of the couple driving at various points in their relationship are interspersed with examples of the woman and her relationships with different men, often taking on a smothering quality. The woman later is the centre of religious rituals that involve her being lifted by several men, including her love interest played by Richie Stephens, speaking in tongues, baptism and exorcism.